By Dave Lahr: Unbeaten British and Commonwealth champion Dereck Chisora (14-0, 9 KO’s) took exception to the comments made by former promoter Jarvis Astaire, who said recently that the British Board of Control should “Seriously reconsider authorizing Chisora’s trip to Germany,” against IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko on December 11th. Astaire says “Not only is Chisora a comparative novice, but he is four inches shorter than Wladimir” Chisora obviously didn’t care for those comments and fired back with some comments of his own, saying “This is a stupid argument. It’s not a question of whether I have had enough fights or if I’m tall enough to fight Klitschko; The point is that when I get through the ropes I will get in there and have a fight and throw things that boxers are supposed to throw – punches – something that [Audley] Harrison didn’t do.”

Yes, Chisora is a much better fighter than Harrison and I think Chisora has the ability to beat WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. But I also think Chisora can beat Wladimir as long as he does the right things he needs to do in the fight with him next month. The one thing Chisora needs to do that Samuel Peter and Eddie Chambers recently failed at was fighting Wladimir on the inside. You have to fight him while you’re in close, because it’s impossible to beat the 6’6″ Wladimir while on the outside. His arms are too long, his jabs too good and he has a way of holding out his arms like long sticks to keep his opponents from charging him all of a sudden to land a big shot. This is why it’s very important to blast away at him when he attempts to clinch.

Wladimir will give his opponents countless chances to land on the inside because Wladimir clinches 24/7. But you have to forget about niceties like taking it easy on the inside and just go ballistic once in close. Haye does a real good job of letting loose with his punches when his opponents try to grab him to clinch. Haye doesn’t let them, and uses the opportunities to land clubbing shots to the side and often to the back of his opponent’s heads to hurt them. I think that’s Haye’s single best weapon. He fights very well in close with his opponents trying to clinch. If you put Haye on the outside, he’s harmless and not much of a threat against an opponent that actually throws jabs.

Chisora continues “Whether I get in there and get smashed up by Klitschko doing it or I get in there and smash him up, I’m fighting for the world heavyweight titles and I’m going to throw punches and fight my heart out…Klitschko is 6’6″, so of course e’s going to tower over me but he’s been dropped plenty of times so he’s vulnerable to my punches when I get inside his.”

Chisora needs to dive forward, get in close and go completely nuts throwing shots until the referee has to literally pull him off of Wladimir. That’s how you beat the Ukrainian and that’s not what Peter, Chambers or any of Wladimir’s opponents have been doing recently. Corrie Sanders had the right idea. When Wladimir tried to slowly reach out to clinch him in their fight in 2003, Sanders belted him with a left and a right and put him down. This is what Chisora needs to do.